Two Displays, Two Philosophies: Comparing and Contrasting the Monarch and the Dot Pad X
by Jonathan Mosen
The fact that there is a need for me to write this article represents tremendous progress in Braille and tactile graphics technology. Today, there are multiple multiline Braille and tactile graphics devices on the market, after decades of us wishing such devices existed. That is an extraordinary place to be.
The two devices drawing the most attention right now are the Monarch, developed in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind by HumanWare and the American Printing House for the Blind, and the Dot Pad X, produced by the South Korean company Dot Inc. At the National Federation of the Blind’s Center of Excellence in Nonvisual Accessibility (CENA), we are receiving many inquiries about the differences between these two devices. Here is a broad overview of them both.
Both devices have the same kind of Braille cells in common. They use refreshable pin technology developed by Dot Inc. Dot’s cells have a distinctive feel about them because of the protective tactile membrane that covers the display. One limitation of the Dot Cells is that they will not refresh while your finger is on them, so neither device is suitable for applications where you need to monitor change in real-time, such as a stopwatch, or for monitoring fluctuating gauges. The Dot Pad X enjoys a minor advantage here in that it is using a newer generation of the Dot cell technology which refreshes more quickly. If you take your fingers off the display very briefly, the cells will refresh. That is largely where the similarities between the two devices end.
The Monarch is about the size of a fifteen-inch gaming laptop, featuring a Perkins-style keyboard and navigation buttons. It weighs approximately five pounds and includes HDMI output so a sighted teacher or colleague can see what the Monarch user is viewing on screen. It offers a battery life exceeding twenty-four hours. The Monarch renders tactile graphics integrated with Braille on a ten-line by thirty-two-cell refreshable display. Its approximate display area is ninety-six by forty equidistant pins, using 480 Braille cells. The cells contain nine pins instead of the traditional six to allow for crisper tactile graphics resolution. The result is a surface capable of rendering flowing multiline Braille text and spatially meaningful tactile images simultaneously on the same surface.
The most important thing to understand about the Monarch is that it is a full, self-contained computer. It does not need to be connected to a phone, a tablet, or a PC to perform its core functions, although you can certainly use it as a multiline Braille display for your computer and iPhone if you wish. It runs on the Android operating system, has its own applications, and its own Wi-Fi connection.
If you have used BrailleNote over the years, you will be familiar with the KeySoft applications on Monarch, which HumanWare has modified to be suitable for a multiline Braille environment. KeyWord, a full word processor, also includes math content created in Microsoft Word’s equation editor, which Monarch will translate into either Nemeth or UEB Math.
KeyMath is a graphing calculator created in partnership with Desmos that allows students to graph tactile functions on demand. The Tactile Viewer app connects via Wi-Fi to APH’s Tactile Graphics Image Library and can display graphics in JPG, PNG, and PDF formats, with over 2,000 tactile graphics available from that library. Victor Reader connects to online libraries including Bookshare and is compatible with Daisy and ePUB files. You can download and read publications from NFB-NEWSLINE®, including the Braille Monitor, right from the Monarch. KeyMail handles email compatible with all popular email services and protocols, and the Monarch includes an internet browser designed from the ground up for multiline Braille navigation.
The Monarch also supports the emerging eBraille format. Unlike static BRF files, eBraille offers rich semantics, support for navigation, and the inclusion of tactile graphics. The Monarch offers support for the cloud services OneDrive and Google Drive, making it easy for you to get documents onto and off of the device. A software development kit means we expect a growing ecosystem of external applications to emerge over time.
When you are editing a document and need to move the cursor to a specific word or character, cursor routing lets you do so. On a single-line display, this is straightforward, because a single row of cursor routing buttons costs little in space or money. On a display with ten lines and thirty-two cells per line, the problem is more complex. Rather than physical keys above each cell, the Monarch uses its touch-sensitive surface to detect where a finger lands and routes the cursor to that position. This preserves the full functionality of cursor routing, including the ability to place the cursor precisely.
The smaller and lighter Dot Pad X is about the size of an iPad Pro and is optimized for reading text and examining graphics. It is a high-quality, highly capable display that reflects and amplifies the intelligence of whatever device it is connected to. The software, the applications, and the content all live on the device you bring to it. This includes some applications such as Dot Book, developed for external devices by Dot Inc. for reading up to ten lines of six-dot Braille on the main display. Dot Inc. has also developed Dot Cloud, a library of tactile graphics. It is not a stand-alone computer. It has no operating system, no built-in storage for documents, no on-device applications for independent use, no built-in keyboard, no cursor routing functions, and no ability to retrieve or create content on its own.
The Dot Pad incorporates a 300 eight-pin Braille cell graphics area (thirty horizontal by ten vertical) and a single-line twenty Braille cell text area. The multiline area is designed first and foremost for graphics, although you can use this area for multiline Braille if you wish, and it works well. When using the larger display area for reading text, you will get twenty cells per line. The dedicated Braille line below the graphics area means you can follow text with one hand while exploring a graphic with the other simultaneously, in a way that feels natural. You control the device with six function keys, and it is these that facilitate moving forward and backward through screens of text. At approximately two and a half pounds and less than an inch thick, it is a device most users will carry without much thought. Curling up on the couch with Dot Pad X or using it while on a commute and reading a good book in Apple Books or Kindle is a great experience. A few people have told us it has rekindled (if I may use that expression) their love of reading Braille for pleasure again. It connects via Bluetooth LE or USB-C. Dot Inc. says the device offers over eight hours of active usage, although in our testing at the International Braille and Technology Center, we have found the battery to last a great deal longer.
To sum up, both devices are capable and have their place. The Monarch is a computer capable of both content creation and content consumption that includes a magnificent display and additionally can be connected to several popular screen readers. The Dot Pad X is a slightly smaller magnificent display designed for content consumption that connects to the computer you already have.
It is important to understand the purpose of these devices, so you can advocate for the one that best suits your needs. If one of them would make an appreciable difference to your work or study, you shouldn’t hesitate to make the case for it. Multiline Braille and electronic access to tactile graphics can significantly improve productivity in many areas.
The Monarch is priced at approximately $15,000, with some variation depending on region and purchasing channel. That figure can cause a sharp intake of breath, but some context helps. A traditional single-line eighty-cell Braille display commands prices of $9,000 and above. The Monarch contains 480 equidistant cells and replaces what would otherwise be a combination of a note-taker, a tactile graphics embosser, and a display. People typically procure the Monarch through educational funding channels, including the Federal Quota Program, and through vocational rehabilitation agencies. The Dot Pad X sells for around $6,000. Importantly, because the Dot Pad X requires a host device, those who do not already own a compatible iPhone, iPad, or Windows PC need to factor that into the total cost.
You can find more in-depth examination of these products through Access On, the National Federation of the Blind’s technology podcast. Check out episodes fifty-eight, fifty-nine, and sixty.